Over the years, we have spent thousands of hours talking with our traders and answering their emails. We have a huge collection of really great information that only benefited the specific traders who we were interacting with. So, we decided to start sharing all of these gems of knowledge with everyone.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

The markets made a small recovery today after a sizable sell-off yesterday. Not only did all three majors close significantly lower on Wednesday, but the move was also accompanied by a 46% spike in the VIX.

The complacency of these markets has been going on a long while – pretty much since December of last year. Volatility seemed to all but disappear over the last couple of weeks as the VIX dropped to historical lows in late-April. Just like an overextension in any chart, we were bound to see some sort of correction or bounce.

May's monthly options expire tomorrow. With the heightened volatility out there, it could take a little longer to get orders filled, especially with another downturn in the markets. If possible, start early and be patient with any limit orders. Be mindful of the intrinsic value your position carries and use that to gauge a fair price for your limit order.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The S&P hesitated at resistance today, as the Nasdaq continued to march higher. The INDU continued to consolidate below its all-time highs, forming a decent base. Volatility remained at historical lows. We haven't seen any urgency by the bulls or the bears to move these markets.

Summer is just around the corner. With May expiration later this week, June is already upon us. Usually, it's the summers that are slow, but we really haven't seen much market activity since late-April.

Continue to keep a sideways outlook in the near term...there could still be some decent sideways plays left in May.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

The markets continued to consolidate at their current levels, with only the Nasdaq showing continued expansion. Although it is very slight, the Nasdaq continues to creep higher, mostly due to earnings results and some speculative investing.

There really isn't much out there to trigger a move higher or lower at this point. The markets could really use a catalyst since economic factors aren't giving any signs of expansion or a slowdown.

Continue to stay patient and light in directional exposure. There is no need to put too much to work here as the markets continue to consolidate. Short-term sideways is probably best over the next couple of weeks.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

All three majors closed flat today after starting the day higher. The markets opened slightly higher today, but couldn't hold on to the majority of their gains. We are starting to see some consolidation forming in the INDU and S&P over the last few sessions. However, the Nasdaq continues to move higher, fueled by earnings results.

Volatility remains low, but the markets seem comfortable at these levels. It has been about five (5) days since we had the surge higher in these markets. Since then, we really haven't seen much. That being said, continued earnings results could play a part in the near future.

Keep an eye on earnings results. We can capitalize on stocks after their earnings announcements by looking for continuations of bullish and bearish patterns.

NOTE: There will NOT be a Wednesday Mid-Week Trading Room Update class this week! The class has been cancelled since the Maverick Trading Team will be flying to the Maverick Trading Summit in Chicago.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The markets surged higher this week, as the Nasdaq broke above 6,000. Economic data has been solid over the last few months. With the help of some strong earnings results, along with good overseas news, the markets could break higher.

The markets have been waiting for a catalyst to make a directional move. With the results of the French election, coupled with continued strong earnings, the markets appear to have received the catalyst that they were searching for. The French election results relieved some of the worries over the future of the euro and the European Union, which most likely attributed to Monday's U.S. market rally.

Today's action was follow-through from Monday, further stimulated by strong earnings results of some of the bigger INDU components.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

All three majors continued higher today after bouncing off their 50-day moving averages yesterday. Sentiment is still leaning to the bullish side with what appears to be a bull pullback to this point; however, we will need to keep our eyes on support levels moving forward. A close below the markets’ current support levels would not be seen as bearish, but would make a strong argument for more consolidation/sideways.

We have seen some bullish trades trigger this week and there are plenty of good trades out there to the upside. If you find your portfolio too bullish, then look to add some sideways trades. Depending on if the markets will retest upper resistance in the next few weeks vs. next few days, we should see sideways trade opportunities.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

The markets started the day strong, but could not hold gains and closed flat on the session. After Tuesday's bearish surge, we were expecting to see more selling. However, this was not the case. In fact, the market was on its way to establishing a support pivot at its current level.

Today's late session weakness is most likely attributed to the delay of the healthcare vote, which was scheduled for today. The markets did close above minor support levels, but gave up all their gains. Keep an eye on these support levels to see if the pivot forms or fails.